HOTTEST TICKET IN LAOS

Eight months after the launch of the Laos-China Railway, it’s still hard to buy tickets. But locals can’t wait to get on board.

- Tan Hui Yee

The sun has barely peeked beyond the horizon but there is already a snaking queue outside Vientiane railway station. The station has not yet opened for the day but some have been there for three hours, would-be passengers on the Laos-China Railway as well as brokers trying to score its coveted tickets.

The 422-km network from northern to central Laos is a flagship project of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, connecting inland China with the markets of Thailand and further beyond in South-east Asia. It is run by a Laos-China joint venture, 70 per cent of which is owned by the China Railway Group and two other Chinese state-owned companies.

Traffic is bustling along this line, despite the Covid-19 pandemic delaying the launch of cross-border passenger services. As at Aug 2, it has ferried over 700,000 passengers as well as over one million tonnes of cross-border freight.

The 160-kmh trains ply between Vientiane and Boten by the Chinese border, taking just an hour to reach the tourist hot spot of Vang Vieng and another to reach Luang Prabang. Demand for rides is so high the firm runs extra services – including regular speed trains – on weekends and special holidays.

The popularity of the train service has silenced some of the initial criticism of the project. Some economists had worried that the multibillion-dollar project would benefit China and Thailand more than Laos itself, while leaving Laos heavily indebted to its northern neighbour. And then there was the question of whether the railway would become a conduit of already strong Chinese influence.

Every day, exactly one hour before the first train of the day departs from Vientiane, gloved attendants line up in a column before striding into the station.